"It would not be difficult to imagine there would be some sort of backlash or protests on the streets there of Islamabad."

The death of bin Laden comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and Pakistan are particularly strained with Pakistani officials angered by U.S. drone strikes in the country. The case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who fatally shot two Pakistani men in Lahore in February, also highlighted divisions between Washington and Islamabad.

But Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, believes the bin Laden operation "shows that underneath this actually there is a pretty firm relationship."

"It is highly significant that Pakistan allowed this to happen on their territory so near their capital," he added.

According to a U.S. official the Pakistan authorities had not been informed ahead of the actual raid.

The implications for al Qaeda, bin Laden's terrorist network, are also significant.

"It is unlikely to kill off al Qaeda but it is going to have a huge psychological impact on members of the organization," says Robertson.

"It's likely we'll hear members of the organization on the internet saying they don't believe this; al Qaeda members are going to say this is part of western propaganda until they see some evidence."

Peter Bergen met bin Laden in 1997 and believes that al Qaeda will perhaps be irrecoverably damaged by the death of bin Laden.

"There's no one who can replace him. When you join al Qaeda you pledge a personal oath of allegiance (to him)," he says.

American-Yemeni cleric Anwar al Awlaki plays a leadership role for al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, but believes Bergen, "(he) is not a major hero to the global jihadi movement who fought the Soviets and U.S. for two decades (like bin Laden)."